Hotels, Hostels, and Youth Hostels in Ethiopia

Hotels-Hostels Africa America North America South Asia Australia Canada Europe New Zealand Oceania/Pacific Extras Exchange Rates Bookmark site Send page to.... Homepage

Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, one exception being the Italian occupation of 1936-41. In 1974 a military junta, the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930) and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings, wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was finally toppled by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. A constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000. Location: Eastern Africa, west of Somalia. Climate: Tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation Djibouti 349 km, Eritrea 912 km, Kenya 861 km, Somalia 1,600 km, Sudan 1,606 kmMore.... Ethiopia has extensive historic sites, particularly in the north of the country, where the visitor can see constructions dating from the first millennium BC, the stelae and tombs of the Axumite kings, rock hewn churches dating from the 4th century, the monasteries of Lake Tana and the 13th century monolithic rock hewn churches of King Lalibella in Wollo. In the east, the 1000 year old city of Harer, with its 99 mosques, is the fourth holiest place in Islam, after Mecca, Median and Jerusalem. South of Addis Ababa there are a number of Neolithic sites, including the 1.5-1.8 million year old site at Melka Kunture (Oromia Region) and the 400 stelae at Dilla in Sidamo (Southern Region). Elsewhere in the southern region there are remote, medieval monasteries and in Jimma, in Oromia, there is the recently resorted palace of Abba Jiffar, the last independent king of the area.

Much...much more information for Enter your search terms Submit search form New window